TORONTO — The Minnesota Twins have their starting pitcher figured
out for Monday at the Rogers Centre, but the Toronto Blue Jays’
situation is a little more complicated.
The Twins will recall left-hander Adalberto Mejia (0-0, 9.00 ERA)
from Triple-A Rochester to make the start in the opener of a
three-game series.
The Twins open their series in Toronto on Monday night after getting swept in three straight over the weekend in Kansas City.
He will replace right-hander Fernando Romero, who started July 15
against the Tampa Bay Rays and was demoted after the game.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, will have reliever Luis Santos (0-0,
7.88) start an expected game-long procession from the bullpen to
replace Marco Estrada, who is still on the disabled list with a
left glute strain.
Estrada is scheduled to make a rehabilitation start Monday with
Double-A New Hampshire instead.
Estrada has not pitched since leaving his July 3 start against the
Boston Red Sox after 12 pitches with the injury. He had been listed
as the possible starter for Monday.
“He threw a side and he felt much better, but we figured where he’s
at, how long it’s been, he’s better off doing it down there,” Blue
Jays manager John Gibbons said.
The Blue Jays (46-52) are coming off a three-game sweep of the
lowly Baltimore Orioles after scoring four eighth-inning runs in a
comeback 5-4 victory on Sunday.
The Twins (44-53) lost 5-3 on Sunday and were swept in a three-game
series by the struggling Kansas City Royals.
In Meija’s only major-league start of 2018, he gave up four runs in
four innings in a June 30 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
“A tough day to gauge somebody,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
“You hope he’s a better version of what we saw the majority of last
year, which means everything from trusting his catcher more to not
trying to strike everybody out to not trying to make the perfect
pitch all the time. He’s got pitches. We all know that.”
Mejia made four appearances, including two starts, after his return
to Rochester. In his start Tuesday, he allowed seven earned runs in
six innings against Louisville. He held Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to
one run in six innings of his previous start. Overall at Triple-A,
he is 5-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 games (11 starts) this season.
The Twins also completed their rotation for the three-game series
by announcing that Ervin Santana will make his first start of the
season Wednesday in the finale. He had surgery in early February to
remove a calcium deposit from his right middle finger.
“It’s going to be a little bit of changing it up in terms of where
to slot him in,” Molitor said. “We thought keeping him on his
regular rest would be good.”
Santana llowed one run in six innings Friday pitching for Rochester.
Mejia is 4-7 with a 4.74 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) during his
major-league career. He has faced the Blue Jays once, a start on
Sept. 16 last season at Minnesota in which he allowed three runs
and five hits in three innings to take the loss.
Santos was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 relief appearances with
Toronto last season, but this season has appeared in only five
games in two stints with the Blue Jays. At Triple-A Buffalo this
season, he is 2-2 with a 2.52 ERA in 17 games (two starts). He has
100 career starts in the minors.
Santos has appeared twice against the Twins, going 0-1 with a 3.38
ERA.
Twins first baseman Logan Morrison (left hip) returned from the DL
on Sunday and was 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
The Blue Jays had Lourdes Gurriel Jr. back from the seven-day
concussion DL and he started at second base, going 2-for-3 with an
error. He failed to turn a double play in the fifth and Baltimore
eventually scored a run in the inning.